Elderly woman’s painting restoration efforts end in disaster

While there’s much to be said for DIY, when it comes to restoring paintings, it’s a task best left to the experts. Unfortunately, it’s too late to pass that advice on to the unnamed amateur who decided to touch up Elias Garcia Martinez’s fresco ‘Ecce Homo’ in Spain’s Santuario de Misericodia church.

Although the 19th century painting is not considered of great importance, it did have sentimental value for both the family of the artist and the community in which he once worshipped.

According to The Independent:

In the first photograph, taken in 2010, slight speckling is apparent. In the second photograph, taken just last month, large patches of white dominate the picture. One theory is that the elderly woman had already begun her work on the painting at this point, and the white marks are the result of her scraping away the paint.

The third photograph shows the image transformed beyond recognition, with a childlike reworking of Jesus’ face, broad brush strokes removing any subtlety from the clothing and thick layers of red and brown paint covering several key details, including the crown of thorns.

Locals do not consider the act malicious in any way, but sometimes the best intentions have a way of doing more harm than good.